The Fear In Her Eyes
by cloudmatter
Summary: Ruby never wanted to transfer schools. She also never wanted to be caught in crossfire in a stupid three way standoff between Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Cinder Fall. But here she was, in a new school stuck dealing with the attention of the three girls. She hated it. High School AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **So the first thing everyone should know is that at the time of writing this it is in no way my main project, but it's an idea that's been brewing in my head for nearly 2 years now and I decided to get it started, so updates will be irregular if they happen at all.

The second thing is that although this is a high school AU it still takes place in the world of Remnant. The important take aways for this story is that Faunus still exist, dust still exists (and all the subsequent inventions because of it), and grimm sort of exist (more will be touched on that throughout the story). Aura also exists but for the most part it plays an incredibly minor role. Point is it's a high school AU but it's not based on earth.

Lastly I want to say that I drew a lot of the original inspiration for this idea from Blood and Ink by ShowMeYourFury so if you notice any parallels don't be surprised, and if you haven't checked out that story yet then you absolutely should, it's very good.

Other than that there isn't much to say, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Are you still upset, sweetie?"

"What do you think Mom?" Her mother sighed.

"I'm sorry, I know it's tough to move away from your friends, especially so close to the end of the school year. But you know I had to take this job."

Ruby looked out the window of the passenger seat. Of course she knew her mothers reasons. The woman had struggled to raise her alone for years and it had grown increasingly difficult. Finally she was offered a teaching position at the prestigious Beacon Academy. With their finances in the red they really had no choice but to accept. Ruby would be getting a scholarship to attend for the full duration. It would be a massive boon for potential scholarships in college if she could do well. More than that it paid her mother enough to actually even give them a chance for her to go. Still the sixteen year old couldn't help but feel a bit bitter. She was forced to move away from her friends, the home she had grown up in, and would have to deal with all the trouble that came with switching to a new school that might not even accept some of the credits she had earned previously.

"I know it's not your fault." How could she blame her mother when she had worked so hard for her. The job would provide her mother more than the three she had been juggling previously combined. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they would be foolish to miss it. "I'm just gonna miss everyone."

She felt a comforting hand rub across her back. "I know, moving is never easy. But on the bright side think of all the new friends you'll get to make! And it's not like you have to lose contact with your old friends." Ruby hid a frown, she had always been bad at making friends and counted her blessings for managing to have as many as she did back home. Her scroll buzzed alerting her to a new message. A message from one of her friends. Her mother had a weird way with timing these things.

"_Salutations friend Ruby! 8D__"_

"_Hey Penny"_

_ "Is the new school to your liking?"_

_ "We're not there yet"_

_ "o.O According to the schedule your mother gave me you should have arrived approximately two minutes and 27 seconds ago."_

_ "We had traffic"_

_ "Oh so you should be arriving now! Sensational! Be sure to tell me how you feel about Beacon!"_

Ruby looked up, from her scroll. Oh Penny was right. The two were stopping at Beacon first so that Ruby could get her schedule and uniform and be shown around the school. Her actual first day wasn't til tomorrow.

_"I'm still not sure how you manage that, but yeah we're here"_

_ "Have fun friend Ruby ;D"_

Penny was a strange girl, but she was also Ruby's best friend and most trusted confidant. She was going to miss seeing the ginger around. She was the only person Ruby felt like she could geek out with over cool Dust inventions. They had known each other for years and Ruby wouldn't be lying if she said they were practically sisters. The only thing separating them from being sisters is blood.

She turned her thoughts away from Penny as she stepped out of the car. Ruby had to hold in a snort at the sight of their car. It had practically their whole life in it. All of which they would be sorting out over the course of the next few days as they moved into their new apartment here in Vale. Truth be told that apartment was something Ruby was somewhat looking forward to. Apparently she would be getting her own room! The thought was almost bizarre, she could never remember a time when she and her mother hadn't shared a room in their tiny apartment back in Mantle.

A gentle nudge from her mother snapped her out of her thoughts. Right they had stuff to do. Ruby quietly followed along taking in the new school as she walked. It was the middle of the school day and there were students scattered around the campus. It felt like they were staring at her. She knew logically they weren't but she stood out and it made her _feel _like she was being watched. Her worn red hoody was a far cry from the crisp and well tended uniforms worn by the student body. Well starting tomorrow she won't stand out, she hated the pressure of so many eyes on her. It made her feel like she was drowning. Again she knew no one really cared, why would they she was just a transfer student, nothing to out of the ordinary, but it didn't change the fact that her pulse quickened.

She practically breathed out a sigh of relief as they entered the main building. There were far few students in the halls. Most seemed to choose to go outside or elsewhere when they weren't in class. Ruby understood the feeling. She would rather be in the library or some kind of engineering room than the halls if she wasn't in class. At least it means that she doesn't feel her eyes itching from being stared at.

Her mother went up to the main office. I was right near the entrance so it wasn't hard to find. A woman looked bored at the front desk. "Hello, I've an appointment with Headmaster Ozpin."

"Alright, your name?"

"Summer Rose."

The woman took a glance down at her notes. "Yep there you are. Alright I'll call him up and see if he's ready to see you." The woman rang up an old telescroll that every school seemed to have. Seriously had they not replaced these things in the past thirty years? "Mr. Ozpin, Ms. Rose is here to see you." The woman listened for a moment before hanging up the scroll. She turned back to the two and said. "He says you can head on in to his office. It's right down that hall it will be the last door on the left." The duo nods and goes the way the woman pointed. Ruby was a bit surprised, given the claims that the school was prestigious she would have thought that the offices would have been fancier, but they looked like they would fit in any old public school.

She had to eat her words moments later as she saw Ozpin's office. It was far from grand, in fact it was fairly utilitarian, though it did have some decorations of Cogs. What really made it stand out was that it was located on a corner between two halls, opposite an internal courtyard. The two walls along the hallways had windows that weren't obscured in the slightest. It gave the man free ability to look out into the school and for students to intern see him while he worked or met with others. Though there were blinds that were likely there for when privacy was necessary.

"Ah Ms. Rose, It's good to see you again! Have you been holding up well?"

"Decently, sir. I see the years have been kind to you." It's true, Ruby hadn't met the man before but he was young looking. If not for his gray hair Ruby would have thought the man was closer to her own age than her mothers.

"Please, call me Ozpin, you used to be so informal with me. Perhaps that was just Raven and Qrow's influence, hmm?"

"You didn't use to be my boss."

"I suppose you're correct. Fear not, I'm aware of your situation. If I had found out sooner I would have offered you the job so much sooner."

"I appreciate it, you're helping us far more than we could ever repay. Thank you."

"Now now, no need for that. I'm helping you because it's the right thing to do, not because I want something from you. Well I want you to teach my students well, but I would hardly call that an ulterior motive." The man turned his eye to her and Ruby felt her nerves rise. "How about I get someone to show young Ruby here around while we catch up?"

"That sounds great! This is a great chance for you to make a new friend." Her mother said, beaming at her. Ruby really didn't want to, but it would make her mother happy and so she would do it.

"Um, sure."

"Excellent, I'll have someone come quickly." The man quickly sent a message out on his scroll and the group fell into a silence while they waited.

A few minutes later a tall woman walked into the room. She hadn't bothered knocking. She had long black hair and amber eyes. She was a pale woman, though not as pale as Ruby. She was wearing a red dress with gold accents that went down to just above her knees. "You called for me Oz?"

"Indeed, I was hoping you could show Miss Rose around campus." He said gesturing to Ruby. The woman's gaze turned towards her and Ruby felt a heat gather in her cheeks. The woman was attractive, combine that with her nerves of being stared at and Ruby couldn't help but know her face was getting red.

"Sure, follow me little red." She said as she turned to leave the room.

* * *

"So we're alone now. Do you finally want to let me know why I've only just found out you've been raising Ruby alone? I know Qrow and Raven are out of the question given what they've gotten themselves into these past few years. But surely you knew you could come to me for help."

Qrow and Raven were difficult to think about for her. They had been her best friends in school. Then grown distant during college, only to reconnect not long after she graduated, things had been good. Of course she had been naive with them. She had believed that just because they were her friends they would always be there. But there was a single inescapable truth. They always put their business first, and they would rather cut her out of their lives than let her get involved. The two had become the leaders of the Branwen Mafia following the untimely death of their father. She had said they could get out of that life, they had told her they would when they had been in school.

They had lied. Well they ended up lying. She didn't think they intended to stay in that life when they had made that promise. But things change and so do people. Of course it had come after she was pregnant with Ruby rather than before. She loved her daughter, but there was a bitter truth she contended with sometimes. She sometimes caught herself wishing she never had Ruby. It made her feel terrible everytime the thought came to her. She had wanted Ruby at the time, she and Raven had asked Qrow to be the father for their child and he agreed. And then they abandoned her. She never once thought that the two had used her, the happiness the three had was too real for that. But they had chosen to turn their backs on their promise and decided that involving her and the unborn Ruby in that life wasn't worth it. Of course the two idiots hadn't thought to give her any support for raising the child on her own. She was committed to kicking their asses for leaving her like that. Assuming she ever saw them again. She missed them.

"I couldn't stand Vale back when I left. It was too painful. I had thought I would be okay on my own. I wasn't."

"I can tell, you look stressed. Like you haven't had a good nights sleep in years."

"I've been working three jobs to stay afloat, of course I haven't had a good nights sleep in years."

"Well, it's in the past now. I assure you that you and Ruby will be well cared for moving forward."

"Thanks, Oz."

* * *

Cinder looked down at the smaller girl. She looked nervous. Maybe she could tell she was in the presence of someone dangerous. She doubted it. The girl likely was just shy. Cinder licked her lips. Ozpin made a mistake assigning her to guide little red around. She was plenty eager to become the wolf.

"So what's your name kid?"

"R-Ruby Rose."

"Cute, I like the alliteration. Name's Cinder Fall."

"S-So I'm guessing that you're not a student?"

"Nope, I'm a T.A. Working here this semester as part of the program for my degree."

"Oh are-are you a college student then?" The girl had a cute little nervous stutter. Cinder liked it, it reminded her of when she's doing her real passion.

"Yep, I'm majoring in education. I'm hoping to be a literature teacher here someday. Maybe Philosophy if they'll let me take over the elective." Well it would be a fun side gig really. Plus she had found that recruiting from high schools was easy. Especially one like this, a bunch of disgruntled rich kids looking to be _bad _not realizing until it's too late that they've gone deeper than they should have. And at that point her claws are already sunk in. She looked down at Ruby. She could try the same with her. It would probably work too. But she was too cute for that. Cinder wanted to have her and then, like she always does with her partners, toss her aside. Dragging her into her dark world by force would ruin that innocence that made her all the sweeter to take.

"O-Oh cool. How old do you, um," The small girl took a moment to compose her thoughts after stumbling on her words, "When do you graduate?"

"About a year from now, I'm 21 if you're curious."

"I-I thought you looked younger."

"Aw thanks kid, glad to know I'm still keeping my good looks with age." She said winking at the girl. She smiled as the girl erupted in a blush. "So what about you, are you a freshmen or what? Maybe an eighth grader who moved up early?" She didn't think she was that young, that was out of even her needlessly large strike zone, but she had a feeling she could tease the girl about it.

"I-I'm 16!" Cinder was admittedly a bit surprised. The girl certainly looked more like she was younger than that. But Cinder chalked it up to the baby face and petite stature.

"Oh maybe you'll have Mr. Port's class, that's the class I TA for. If you ever need help with _anything _just let me know." She smiled as the girls face once more was consumed in an adorable blush.

Ruby didn't say anything but Cinder took the slight squeak to be agreement with the offer. With that she eased up on her teasing as she started to properly show the girl around. Oz would be a pain in the ass if he actually thought she wasn't doing her job.

* * *

Ruby had no idea what to think of the woman next to her. It might be more apt to call her a bombshell really. She was dark and sexy and just loved to tease her. But she felt fake. The woman wore a friendly smile, but it felt almost sinister at times. She seemed to get lost in thought much like herself, but where Ruby overthought things to the point of it being annoying it felt like Cinder was planning something. She didn't trust her. But then again she couldn't be that bad right? Ozpin wouldn't have picked her if she had a bad reputation or was malevolent. But then again she knew nothing about the man. Supposedly he was a man of outstanding moral character, but she had never met him and had no reason to trust him.

Though there was one thing she knew about him. He had info about her mothers past. For some reason Ruby had never figured out her mother had refused to talk about her past. From the sound of things she had attended Beacon, and had been friends with people by the name of Qrow and Raven. She wondered if the bird names were a coincidence or if their related and it's some family thing. For a second she was tempted to ask her current companion before discarding the idea. The woman still didn't seem trustworthy and she likely didn't know about them anyways, given the presumed age gap. Still she'd have to look into the names, maybe ask Ozpin or someone else among the staff here. Something to keep in mind.

Speaking of something she should keep in mind, it would be that she should watch where she's going. If not for Cinder pulling her out of the way she would have crashed into someone.

That someone was a beautiful girl with long white hair and piercing blue eyes. They were cold, but not hostile. It was more like the girl simply didn't care about what she was looking at. Which of course made Ruby's nerves spike. The girl was looking right at her after all. Wait no. No she was looking at the taller girl who, now that Ruby thinks about it was, still holding her.

"Hello Miss Cinder."

"Hey Weiss."

"Please don't act so familiar with me."

"Oh have the mighty Schnees finally declared themselves to good for us commoners." Wait. Schnee? As in _the _Schnee family. The richest family on the face of remnant? The same people who floated up high in the skies of Atlas.

Ruby never liked Atlas. It was known as the city of light (among many other overly romanticized titles). But that light came at a cost, for much of the day it shrouded Mantle in it's shadow. She hated looking up at the underside of the city as a child. She hated it even now in fact. It might be beautiful from above, she couldn't really say. She had only seen pictures online and in text books. But it was hideous from below. It was just a giant floating rock that blocked out the warmth of the sun. Ruby was never the outdoorsy type, but between the long winter nights in Mantle and Atlas blocking out the sun for much of the day she had no choice but to be so pale. She suspected that if she hadn't lived in Mantle she would have been colored more like Cinder, if perhaps a bit paler. It didn't really matter in the end. She had no power to stop the damn city from blocking her light, so why worry?

"We've never claimed to be better than commoners, but we are certainly better than deviants like _you_." Weiss said with Venom.

"Oh you wound me. Just because I openly indulge in fun doesn't make me a deviant."

"No it doesn't, what makes you a deviant is the fact that you target younger lonely girls who need a friend, not a fuck." Blue eyes flicked down and met her own evenly. "I don't know you, or what she's told you but she's misleading you."

"O-Ozpin asked her to show me around the school." The white haired girl nodded.

"I see. I advice you to keep your distance from her. Unless you want her to chew you up and spit you out."

"Don't listen to her Ruby. I would never do anything to hurt you. We're friends already aren't we." Ruby practically jumped out of her skin when she felt Cinder tilt her head up to look in the eyes.

"Um." She didn't know how to answer the question. Weiss' statements only added fuel to her own suspicion, but on the surface Cinder had been nothing but kind to her. "S-Sure?" She wasn't sure if that's the right choice, but she could always just end the friendship, right?

Cinder grinned and was about to say something but Weiss pulled her away. "How about I show you around school, Cinder you class is about to start anyways. And it's my off period anyways. You wouldn't want to be late would you?

"I don't mind, I can always tell Mr. Port that Ozpin had me busy. It's true and the man himself can confirm it."

"Still, you wouldn't want to disappoint your students, would you?" Cinder sighed.

"I don't like leaving you with her, who knows what kind of lies you'll put in her head, but you're right. Ruby if she says anything bad about me, or anyone really don't listen. Weiss over here loves to make sure everyone else looks worse than her at all times."

Ruby wouldn't believe it normally, but the white haired girl was a Schnee, and Cinder had seemed pretty earnest. With that Cinder waved and left.

* * *

Weiss eyed the younger girl from the corner of her eye. She almost felt pity for her. It was clear that she had become Cinder's next target. The girl looked weak willed. She was clearly all nerves and tension. Weiss wouldn't blame her for it. Not everyone was cut out to deal with pressure. She sort of envied being able to live a life where one could actually reject the pressure shunt onto them. Weiss wasn't afforded such a luxury. In fact it was the one and only luxury she couldn't afford. As the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company she had responsibilities that must be upheld above all else. She had been preparing for them for well over a decade now. She was one of the few people aware of the fact that her father intended to retire soon so he can actually start enjoying his accumulated wealth in earnest. It was a testament to his confidence in her.

Initially the man had been immensely disappointed in her performance as the heiress following Winters running off to join the military. But she had proven herself over the years and they both knew that he intended to hand the company over to her once she graduated college. Of course the whole college situation was a bit of a farce. It's not like she needs it like normal people to secure a stable income, but it wouldn't do for the heiress and future CEO to look uneducated. And it's not like she didn't enjoy it. She did in fact enjoy school quite a lot. So she was sure she would enjoy college just as much, but it didn't change the fact that the actual schooling was unnecessary.

She once more eyed the girl beside her. She was cute. Weiss could admit that much easily. While the two were of the same height (although the other girl was a bit taller, but not enough to really worry over) the other girl had a much more petite feeling to her. She wore a baggy hoody but just a look at her hands and Weiss could tell the girl was thing under the hoody. Add on the baby face and it made her look rather young.

It was likely the reason Cinder had found her appealing in the first place. She was a cute girl who seemed nervous and innocent, that fit the devious woman's criteria perfectly. Weiss herself had never met the criteria because of her own dignified appearance and self confidence. Even if she did otherwise have the looks that Cinder might like. Of course even if that woman had propositioned her she would have rejected, she knew what that woman was like and she wanted no part in her dealings.

"So what made you come to Beacon Ruby?"

"M-My mom got a job here." Interesting, Ozpin only picked from the best to teach here so her mother must be quite something if they'd even let her daughter transfer in at such a point in the year.

"I see."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Well Weiss thought it was comfortable, if what little Weiss had observed of Ruby so far was true (which she was sure it is) then the girl was probably feeling awkward right now. She supposed she'd save her from the feeling.

"I don't know what Cinder told you, but I would be careful around her. You're her type and in this case that's not a good thing."

"I-I sort of got the feeling. She didn't seem real to-to me." Weiss nodded, the girl was more perceptive than she gave her credit for.

"Just never forget that feeling, the moment you do is when she'll pounce." Ruby nodded. Good. If the girl was willing to take her advice then she might just survive being Cinders target.

"Th-Thanks Weiss."

"Of course, it's my duty to help those in need, even if they themselves don't realize they need help."

"That's rich coming from a Schnee." Weiss rolled her eyes. Of course Belladonna was here. She couldn't go a single day without seeing her two least favorite people, could she?

She eyed the cat faunus with annoyance. "Must you bring your propaganda to school?"

"Is it really propaganda if it's the truth?"

"It is when you have no evidence to back up your claims."

"I've shown you more than enough evidence, you simply refuse to accept the truth."

"Easily photo-shopped documents is hardly evidence."

"And that's why you're a Schnee, always ready to dismiss dissenting opinion." She saw the yellow eyes flick to the girl next to her. "I see you've started recruiting someone new. It's a bit surprising that it's not someone from wealth."

"I'm merely showing her around school, she's a new transfer."

"Oh how kind of you!" She says, her tone dripping with snark.

"It is when I saved her from Cinder."

"Well you certainly helped her in that regard. I guess even you need to do good deeds occasionally."

Weiss rolled her eyes, she did good deeds all the time. She hosted charity events almost every week and when she wasn't doing that she was out performing on stage. She certainly did more than Belladonna.

"U-Um, who are you?"

* * *

Blake smiled and looked down at the smaller girl. She was a sweet little thing, clearly timid by nature. The girl wasn't one to stare at her ears, and Blake could appreciate that. In fact it was only when they made eye contact did the girl seem to find the floor more interesting. But that didn't seem related to her being a Faunus. Clearly Weiss hadn't sunk her Faunus hating fangs in her yet.

"I'm Blake Belladonna. And you?"

"Ruby Rose."

"Cute name, it suits you."

Blake smiled as the girl blushed and stammered out a, "Th-Thanks." She could see why Cinder liked her. In fact she could even see why Weiss was starting to take to her. Those two would never admit it but they were more similar than they thought. In particular they were both power hungry. Cinder exercised that desire by sleeping with timid girls who are easy to take advantage of. Weiss did it by surrounding herself in sycophants and those seeking wealth. She didn't think Ruby necessarily fell into that category, but not everyone did at the start. Some started by simply receiving gifts of increasing price, until they came to her specifically because they desire more.

Blake hoped Ruby wouldn't fall into their traps. The girl clearly just needed someone to rely on, and neither of them were trust worthy. Of course Blake knew she wasn't being fair, she always wanted to sway people to her side. The more people on the side of the Faunus the easier it would be to earn their equality. She wasn't stupid, she knew they needed human support. It was humiliating in a way. Humans held the power and it was only if they passed laws would Faunus have a chance. So they needed humans, whether they liked it or not.

So Blake had an ulterior motive too, but she would at least be up front about it. She wouldn't try to manipulate the girl into a situation that forced her to her side. She would simply be a good friend, and be open about her views. If Ruby valued the friendship then she would join her side naturally.

"Right well we need to be going, I have a school to show."

"I'll tag along then, I have nothing better to do. And I'd love to get to know you, Ruby."

* * *

Cinder was admittedly not happy to see Ruby walking between Weiss and Blake. It would be a pain if the two decided to actually team up against her. But she doubted it would work for long. Those two always end up fighting, it was only a matter of time.

"Hello Ruby. Others." She loved the look of offense that Weiss took from her statement. Blake merely rolled her eyes.

"H-Hey Cinder."

"I'm glad I found you, I offered to help you and it occurred to me you don't even have my scroll number. Here." As she said it she reached into her pocket and handed Ruby a slip of paper. She had wrote it earlier, during her class. "Call me sometime, I'd love to hang out. Maybe show you around Vale."

"I-I'll keep that in mind."

"In that case I'll give you my number too." Cinder eyed Blake. She was hoping the cat wouldn't make a move. Now she's going to have to deal with Weiss doing so too.

Predictably Weiss offered too, not wanting to let the other two take an advantage. "Then I shall as well. I'll have you know I'm the valedictorian of my class, it would be my pleasure to help you with any class should you need it."

"U-Um, thanks."

* * *

Ruby hated this. There were so many eyes on her right now. It was these three's fault. They drew attention. More attention than she could handle. She spotted her mom out of the corner of her eye. Relief swelled in her and she quickly said. "Well it's time I head home, I'll see you around maybe, bye!" And with that she quickly moved around Blake and ran to her mom.

She was ready to go home. She was already starting to realize that it was shaping up to be an awful year.

* * *

A/N So yeah this might be a oneshot or not, not really sure yet. I mean I have an idea of what I want to do, but I'm not sure how much time I want to dedicate to this. I guess it depends on how well you all like this. If I get a resounding meh I'll probably just stick to my other two stories (which I really shouldn't start work on three anyways). But if people really want to see more then I'll probably keep going. So yeah I don't know. Let me know if you want more of this or if it's boring as hell or outright just bad.

Also as an FYI no ship is set in stone for this fic (outside of past Summer x Raven) I will say it will definitely be one of the three girls that toured Beacon with Ruby, but I haven't truly decided which. So while I can't guarantee I'll decide based off of request (I'll see where the writing takes me) I am interested to hear which ship you want to win.

Until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mommy! Wake up Mommy! Come on you promised we'd go play today! Mommy"

"Ruby not now sweetie, mommy needs rest."

"But Mommy you-"

She quickly shut her mouth as she made eye contact with her mother. There was no love and warmth in her eyes that she had grown up with. Only desperate regret and well suppressed hatred.

Her mother had never once said anything bad to her or treated her poorly. The woman worked tirelessly for the two of them. But it didn't change the undeniable resentment she saw in her eyes. Why did she look at her like that? Was she bad? What was wrong with her to make her mother look at her like that?

Suddenly she wasn't an excited little girl jumping on her mother. Now she was a teen, terrified of making eye contact with people, especially her own mother. Eyes seemed to open up all around her, staring at her, jeering, proving her fears. She couldn't take it. Her throat was constricting and she felt like she would suffocate. Why couldn't they just look somewhere else, why did they have to judge her so fiercely.

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. She hated this, the staring. It made her feel so worthless, maybe she was as worthless as the stares indicated. She wanted it to go away. She wanted them to stop staring.

When she opened her eyes next she was in her new room. Right they moved. New school. New home. She chalked the nightmare up to her new bed. She always seemed to have trouble sleeping when she was in a new place she had similar nightmares whenever she spent the night with Penny.

She tried to bury the dream in her memories. She didn't want to think about it today. She needed a long and cold shower.

* * *

She walked into the kitchen with a yawn, dressed in her new uniform. She had to admit the fabric was pretty nice and it did look good. But she was missing her hoodie already. Maybe Ozpin would let her wear it under the uniform, though that might get uncomfortable when it's hot out. She'd find a solution.

"Morning sweetie." She couldn't look her mother in the eyes. She hadn't in years. She still loved her mother, the woman was incredible and in many ways was exactly what she strives to be. But she had never been able to get past that vision of barely suppressed hate and hopeless regret. It made her feel like she was drowning everytime she thought about it. She was afraid, afraid that if she looked in her mother's eyes again, and saw that same hatred she might just break into a million pieces. She didn't think that she would be able to pick herself up again after that. She wasn't willing to risk it.

"Morning."

"You're up early today, excited for your first day of school? I saw that you made some friends yesterday."

"Friends?" She didn't recall making any friends, only meeting potential enemies.

"Yeah Ms. Fall and those other two girls."

"We're not friends, I don't like them they feel fake to me."

"I'm sure that's just your nerves. Give them a chance." She wasn't going to. The only friend she needed was Penny. Penny had never once looked at her with anything other than curiosity or affection. Penny wouldn't betray her trust. Those other three girls on the other hand, they would. She could tell that they would leave her alone in a heartbeat if it benefited them. Their eyes told the truth and that truth was that they saw her as something to use, and nothing more. She had gotten good at reading people through their eyes. And those three had the look of a liar.

"Right well, I'm gonna head out early. I wanna check out the school a bit more." It's not true. She had seen more than she cared for already. But she wanted out of this conversation. She quickly grabbed her backpack and headed to the front door.

"Oh, alright. I'll see you after school."

"Bye Mom, I love you." She hesitated for a moment at the doorway, waiting to hear a response. When none came she sighed and left. Just as she hadn't made eye contact with her mother in years, her mother hadn't said she loved her back in years. They were broken and pretending that things were okay.

* * *

Summer wanted to kick herself. Another day and she had once more failed to tell her daughter she loved her. Every time she tried her voice failed her.

She loved her daughter, she really did. Ruby was the one thing that had kept her going for all these years. But everytime she saw her she was reminded of the life she had to give up. She saw Qrow and Raven in her so damn much. It was painful. She couldn't stand the sight of her own daughter because of the memories that sight accompanied.

It was unfair and she knew it. Her daughter deserved a mother who loved her unconditionally, and Summer had failed to meet that requirement on more occasions than she cared to admit.

She was aware of Ruby's anxiety about being stared at. But she had never been able to afford a therapist for her daughter, and how was she supposed to broach the topic when she herself was the thing that started the whole problem. The memory was blurry for her, but she had barely gotten any sleep that day. Or the previous. She had finally had a good chance to rest and her previously hyperactive daughter wanted her to make good on her promise to spend time with her. She had let her facade slip one time, by accident. And her daughter had recognized it all. She remembered the gasp of shock as her daughter fell back. She hadn't managed to stay awake long enough to comfort her.

Things changed for them after that. Ruby drew into herself and had started refusing to look her in the eye. And Summer had slowly begun to lose her mask of true unconditional affection. She loved her daughter, she really did. But it wasn't as all encompassing as a parents love should be, and that fact always had her drawing a blank when Ruby told her she loved her. She was sure it only made things worse for her. It made her feel endlessly guilty.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. If only Raven were here, then they could have raised their daughter together. They could have been happy together. She didn't understand why Raven had to join Qrow. Surely the woman could have just let her brother take over alone. But they had both left and they had taken part of her with them. She wanted to be happy, but she wasn't, she wanted to love her daughter unconditionally, but she couldn't, she wanted to be free but she wasn't. She wanted to die but she couldn't do that either. She laughed bitterly, gods she was miserable.

She sighed once more and set out. She had a classroom of thirty teenagers to face, and thinking about how much she hates her life wouldn't help. Especially not when she's teaching kids how to perform advanced dust reactions.

* * *

"_Salutations friend Ruby! 8D"_

"_Hey Penny"_

"_Do you enjoy the new school?"_

"_Not in the slightest"_

"_What is wrong, friend Ruby? According to my calculations there is a 73.8% chance you should be enjoying it."_ Ruby had no idea if that was some kind of joke or if Penny actually had some weird way of calculating her enjoyment, either way she was wrong.

"_I think I'm somehow caught in the cross-hairs between three older girls. I'm worried they'll target me"_

"_If they do I am combat ready!"_

"_Thanks Penny"_

"_Of course friend Ruby! XD"_ Ruby laughed, Penny was a strange one, but she was a wonderful friend. "_Be sure to tell me about the new school. I would love to talk about cute boys with you!"_

"_You know I'm not into boys"_

"_Yes but we can still talk about them as friends do."_

"_Well I'll be sure to let you know"_

"_Sensational! 8D"_

"Who's got you smiling so much?" Ruby snapped her head up from her scroll and was met with golden eyes. Her smile wilted instantly as she made eye contact with the older woman.

"I, uh." Stop staring. Stop staring. Stop staring. Please stop staring at her. She could feel her skin crawling and sweat begin to gather on her palms. Just stop staring at her. Why wasn't she stopping?

"What's wrong, Ruby? There's no need to be scared."

"Don't stare." She mumbled it out, but if the twitch of the woman's ear was anything to go by she had heard it.

"Oh sorry, didn't realize staring bothered you. I'll be careful in the future."

". . . Thanks."

"Of course, what are friends for?"

Ruby didn't answer. She didn't consider the golden eyed girl her friend. She was friendly, sure. But all three of the girls she met yesterday didn't feel trustworthy. She could see it in their eyes. They didn't give her the same look as Penny. There was no curiosity, not in her as a person or as a new student. No all three of them had looked at her with a look that was analyzing her. She hated it. Why did they have to stare. Did she wear her failures that obviously? Of course she did, it's why her mother didn't love her and looked at her like _that_.

"No pressure, I understand if you're not ready to call us friends yet." Ruby looked at Blake in surprise. Normally people got offended when she rejected their offers of friendship. Maybe the girl was offended and was hiding it well. It was hard to say. "But hey since we're together we might as well walk to school together right?"

With much hesitation Ruby nodded. She didn't really want to, but what was she going to do? Make Blake walk ahead or wait for her to get a head start? She didn't just want to stand there awkwardly for however many minutes and she was sure the older girl didn't either. The thought was worse when she considered the possibility of her mother driving by.

"So I guess you live near here right?" Ruby nodded carefully, her apartment was a few blocks away. "Cool, I actually typically carpool with a friend, but he couldn't pick me up today so I had to walk."

"Do you live near here too?"

"Nope, I actually had to get up pretty early to make up for the lack of a ride." The girl didn't seem upset by that fact, or if she was she didn't make it obvious.

Ruby didn't say anything more not really interested in keeping the conversation going. She silently thanked Blake for respecting that and allowing them to fall into silence. She would rather the other girl not be here so she could go back to texting Penny in solitude, but this was the second best option given the circumstance. At least the older girl had taken her request seriously and wasn't looking at her. Or if she did it was while Ruby wasn't paying attention.

* * *

They had arrived at school in a timely manner. Ruby had set out with time to spare (mainly as a result of not wanting to have a discussion about making friends). Other students were filtering in to the campus as well and Ruby was already intensely aware of the stares being sent her way. She knew whose fault it was. The cat Faunus on her left drew attention and she was receiving some of it just by proximity.

"I-I'll see you later Blake." She didn't give the older girl a chance to respond as she quickly walked away. She hated this. It felt like everyone was glaring at her. Didn't they have anything better to do than stare at her? Ruby was quickly developing the suspicion that being seen with any of the three girls she met yesterday would prove a massive nuisance. She was sure Weiss drew attention just by virtue of her name alone, not to mention her rather exotic white hair. She wasn't sure how but she figured Cinder must draw a similar amount of attention. It would help explain the bad blood between the three.

Ruby quickly found a secluded part of campus and dug through her backpack for her schedule. She quickly reviewed it and set out for her first class. She hoped beyond all hope that her teachers wouldn't bother trying to introduce her to the class. She doubted it would work, but a girl could hope. Her first class was on the history of Remnant. Ugh, she was going to be so bored.

* * *

Well as it turned out she didn't get a chance to be bored. Instead she was too busy spending most of the lecture frantically writing notes to keep up with the speed of her teacher. Dr. Oobleck. She didn't understand why he was making his students call him Doctor. Sure he had his Doctorate, but he was teaching High School. Ruby felt it would make more sense to argue about the degree commanding respect when actually being applied to something more meaningful. Of course she wouldn't say that to his face, but the thought was there.

Fortunately the man had been kind enough to at least let her go by without having to introduce herself. The most attention she had received was when he called names for attendance. She had received a few looks being a new face and a new name at the end of the roster, but outside of that that was all the attention she got. It had been like a weight lifted from her shoulders when the man dived right into his lecture.

She couldn't say the same for Mr. Port's class. The man had been about to launch into some rant about the literature they were currently reading and analyzing, but then of course Cinder arrived and had to say something. Ruby looked at the older woman who was smiling sweetly with hate.

"Ah my mistake! Class we have a new student joining us today. Please Miss Rose, come to the front and introduce yourself!" Ruby's glare towards Cinder only turned harsher. She would have been able to get by if Cinder hadn't spoken up. Ruby slowly stood from her seat at the back of the class and made her way to the front. If she could have she would have just disappeared into her seat never to be seen or heard from again. Instead she had to live in the real world where hiding in her seat would just piss her teacher off and make things worse for herself. "Excellent. I'm sure we would all love to hear more about you!"

"R-Right. I'm, um, Ruby Rose." She hoped that would be enough. She took one look at the class and saw a seemingly endless amount of eyes staring back at her. She felt her pulse spike and she blinked rapidly. There were no horrific eyes watching her every move. Just her classmates looking bored. She had to tell herself that that was the case, and that they weren't secretly looking at her with poorly hidden contempt.

"And where are you from?" Port couldn't leave well enough alone could he? Old bastard.

"M-Mistral."

"I see, you're quite far from home!" He seemed to finally pick up on her discomfort as he said, "Well you can return to your seat. Everyone will have ample time to get to know you in the coming months! Now I believe I was about to regale you with tales of. . ." Ruby zoned out as she returned to her seat. She refused to meet the gaze of any of the students in her class. That had been terrible. She flicked her eyes to Cinder who was staring at her. She didn't think the girl had been perceptive enough to realize her problem or if she was then she was malicious enough to intentionally put Ruby on the spot. Either way it only reaffirmed Ruby's belief that nothing good would come of associating with her.

* * *

"Hey Ruby, wait up!" That girl had practically sprinted out of the classroom. She knew Ruby heard her, but the girl didn't stop moving. Cinder growled as the petite girl kept walking. It wasn't hard to catch up, longer legs and an athletic build had a way of making it easy to catch up with out of shape shorties. Not to say Ruby was fat or anything, but it was clear the girl hadn't been properly exercising for a while now. And she clearly hadn't been eating enough if her somewhat gaunt appearance was anything to go by.

After a bit of running she managed to catch up and grab the smaller girls wrist. Finally she turned and glared at her. "What do you want?!"

"I just wanted to say sorry about that. I didn't realize that you hated attention so much." It was true, she had thought the girl was shy, but it looked like she would have a panic attack at any moment if she had stayed at the front any longer than she had. Cinder was many, _many, _terrible things, and had done many terrible things in her life. She had absolutely no problem mercilessly ordering someone beaten or tortured for failing to pay her the money they owed, or for pimping out girls even younger than Ruby or for ordering people to kill a _targets_ loved ones just to break them. She was an awful person by most standards and she knew it. It came with the job (although she did enjoy her job a great deal).

But her _targets_ were something different. Perhaps calling them _targets_ were misleading, it would be more apt to call them conquests, _targets _had a rather murdery connotation, and she never murdered a conquest. She wanted to seduce them, to make them love her. And then to leave them. She felt it made them all the more beautiful when they were obsessed with her. When she would remember them for how they were right at the moment that obsession developed. Longer relationships would just make her view of them decay. They would lose their luster, their flaws as humans would become more prominent and they would become worthless. So she rid herself of them before those imperfections could ruin them. But she didn't like to hurt them in the process of the conquest (outside of having them isolated to only be able to rely on her, but really that's not so bad, at least by her standards). So the last thing she wants is for Ruby to feel like she intentionally tired to give her a panic attack. It would not only make things more difficult for her, but she also genuinely hadn't intended for it to happen.

And one should apologize when they make a mistake, no?

"Well now you do. Please leave me alone." The smaller girl was trying to yank her wrist out of her grasp. Cinder sighed and did as requested. She would love to keep holding onto the silver eyed girl, but the goal wasn't to take her by force. She had no doubt that if she really wanted to she would manage. After all she could just send some people to kidnap her on her way to school. But that wasn't the goal. It did seem that it would be harder to conquer Ruby than previous conquests had been. But that only made things all the more thrilling.

"Again, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful in the future." Silver eyes met her own. Something flickered across the face of the other girl.

"Y-You couldn't have known. J-Just be careful." The girl didn't say goodbye but Cinder couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl leave. She had to give the girl credit, she was better at reading people than Cinder had thought. She had clearly seen that Cinder actually meant it and had forgiven her. Or maybe she hadn't and was simply weak willed. But Cinder was suspecting it to be the former.

Good, that means she wouldn't be restarting from square one then.

* * *

Weiss looked at the woman that would be taking over the position of teacher for advanced dust manipulation. Mrs. Peach had entered maternity leave and wasn't intending to return, so the school had found a new teacher to replace her fairly quickly. Of course all that wasn't what made Weiss interested in the woman. No it was much simpler. She looked quite a bit like Ruby Rose. And given the name written on the board says "Summer Rose" It wasn't hard to see the connection.

She wondered for a moment if Ruby would have the same passion for dust manipulation that she had. It wasn't particularly useful outside of wanting to enter research and development, or teaching, but Weiss had found it a relaxing hobby. Of course she was well aware that her status as heiress of the SDC made it all the easier to acquire and partake in her hobby, but she had no shame in that.

The woman seemed to recognize her. Although Weiss was unsure if that was because she had seen her with Ruby yesterday, or if her reputation as heiress precedes her. Either way it wasn't terrible to receive recognition, she had lived her whole life with it and she would go the rest of her life with it.

The woman was clearly confidant in herself and her abilities with the volatile material. She wondered why Ruby was such a nervous wreck then, if the mother was so confidant. Surely she would have been able to raise her own daughters confidence, right?

She didn't know. She supposed it doesn't really matter. Right now all that mattered was that she doesn't mess up the dust reaction and cause an explosion. They weren't in the main building. They had a separate building specifically for all dust based lessons offered at the academy (although the dust itself was stored in yet another secure facility, don't want to keep all that volatile material in the same place it's being experimented with.)

She found herself enjoying Summer's lesson. The woman didn't mince her words and expected the students to know what they were doing. Weiss, had prided herself on her ability to study and vast knowledge, as such she had no trouble following along. She hated to admit it but it did feel good to know that she was succeeding where others were failing. It was petty and she knew it, but it didn't make it feel any less satisfying.

The class passed quickly and the bell soon rung. It was her last class of the day so she thought it would be fun to stick around and dive deeper into a conversation with Summer.

"Ms. Rose! Do you have time? I'd like to get your thoughts on mixing gravity dust and hard-light dust."

"What about the mixture, as far as I'm aware it always leads to the hard-light dust collapsing." Weiss swelled with anticipation as Summer gave an actual answer on the effects. Mrs. Peach had never been one to engage in discussion. "Although it is thought that there is a stable ratio that would allow for the creation of hard-light gravity dust." Weiss nodded, in the past several years many research papers had cropped up claiming that mixing the two successfully might somehow allow humanity to achieve a source of limitless energy. It was frankly a little outlandish, but at the same time it was an entertaining thought to indulge in. If it was true then they were on the cusp of a massive technological revolution comparable to the invention of agriculture in scale. Far more likely it would remain something entirely theoretical that would never be achievable by humanity.

* * *

"Hey Ruby!" She ignored the sigh of annoyance from the younger girl. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"I. . . What?" Oh she hadn't thought about how that would sound.

"Er, I mean hang out."

"Why?"

"Because I want to get to know you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be your friend."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I thought it would be a good idea!" She sighed as the other girl huffed. She clearly was under the impression that Blake was approaching her with some ulterior motive. She really truly did want her to be a friend. She also happened to have an ulterior motive, but she was telling the truth. Just not all of it. But for the most part she was just bored, Ilia and Adam had work to do under Sienna's orders, so she had no one to hang out with after school today. It seemed like a good opportunity to work on cracking the nut that is Ruby Rose.

"Okay." Wait she really agreed?

"What?"

"Do you want to hang out or not?"

Blake agreed in an instant. "Of course! I'm just surprised, I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. _I don't hate anyone._" The latter half of the statement was said in a whisper. Ruby likely hadn't expected her to hear it, but hey the extra pair of ears came with benefits.

"I'm glad, I thought you didn't like me." She wasn't close enough to the girl to really be effected if she didn't like her. But she did feel like she had an obligation to protect her from the menaces that are Weiss Schnee and Cinder Fall. Of course that wasn't really true either. There were plenty of girls she had let Cinder use without caring about, and there were plenty more she didn't bother to stop Weiss from turning into her little puppets. But something about Ruby told her that it was worth protecting her from the two of them. In a way she reminded her of someone she used to know, but she wasn't really sure who it was, but the feeling was nostalgic. "You ready to go?" The smaller girl nodded and they quickly set out.

* * *

Ruby didn't really care much for hanging out with Blake. But it did have one advantage. She could claim she was making friends to her mother, and then wouldn't have to deal with being forced to meet people she hates. And Blake wasn't a bad choice, the girl had taken her request earlier in the day to heart and hadn't stared at her once in the entire time they had spent together. Ruby was silently thankful for that.

They were calmly walking through the city side by side. Blake had said they wouldn't go to far from the area around the school, out of respect for the fact that Ruby wanted to be within walking distance of her apartment.

Things had been fine, there was a nearby diner and Ruby had quickly found out that they made damn good pancakes. At least so Blake claimed. Apparently one of the students at Beacon was working there at the demands of one of his friends, because he needed to share his recipe with the world. Blake had assured her that she would introduce her to the duo one day.

Ruby wasn't sure she wanted to meet them, but she had agreed out of politeness. Plus Blake had payed for her meal (Ruby hadn't thought about going out when she left and hadn't remembered to bring any money) so she wasn't about to reject the girls kindness.

The sun was slowly setting and Ruby figured she ought to be getting home. She said as much to Blake.

"Want me to walk you home? The streets of Vale can be pretty dangerous at night."

"I'll be okay."

She was a bit surprised that Blake hadn't put up more of a fight about the matter. She had come to realize the Faunus girl was the overprotective type. But Ruby wasn't about to complain about the chance to finally be alone. She hadn't gotten a good opportunity to talk to Penny all day.

* * *

The walk home wasn't long but it was long enough. As evidenced by the fact that the sun had set and she still wasn't home yet.

_"I hate life"_

_ "Salutations friend Ruby! D8 What has upset you so?"_

_ "My suspicions about the older girls were correct"_

_ "I'm sorry to hear that friend Ruby. Were your classes at least acceptable?"_

_ "I had to do introductions, of course they weren't"_

_ "Well it is over now! 8D"_

Much like this morning she was interrupted from her messaging. Although this time it was from bumping into someone and falling on her ass like an idiot. She looked up and met the lavender eyes of a tall blonde woman (though not as tall as Cinder). Her hair was tied in a ponytail but it seemed to have trouble constraining the long main. Most importantly was the fact that the woman was dressed in an officers uniform.

"Hey kid, you okay?" The woman said, as she reached down and offered a hand. Ruby hesitantly accepted the gesture and blinked in surprise as the woman pulled her to her feet.

"Th-Thanks."

"Anytime, it's my fault to begin with." The woman offered her a kind smile and asked, "What's your name kid?"

"Ruby Rose." She couldn't draw her eyes away from the woman. Her eyes were warm, earnest. This woman looked like she wore her heart on her sleeve. The stare _almost_ didn't make her skin crawl, it was the closest anyone had come to being like Penny.

"I'm guessing you're a student at Beacon if the uniform is anything to go by." She smiled as Ruby nodded. "Oh names Yang Xiao Long by the way. Or Officer Xiao Long if you've got a stick up your ass. Where you headed Rubes?"

"R-Rubes?!" She practically choked on the words in surprise. The closest thing she ever had to a nickname was 'friend Ruby' and that wasn't really a nickname if anything she knew about Penny was true. And her mom calling her Sweetie doesn't count.

"Sorry, guess I got a bit to friendly there."

"I-It's alright."

"Right so once again, where you headed?"

"Home."

"Good kid, don't be out on the streets of Vale at night, cheap thrills aren't worth the risk. And believe me, I used to seek them all the time before my pops straightened me out." Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about the woman just launching into the story, but it wasn't that bad she guessed. "Anyways, I can take you home if you'd like."

"Th-that's okay. I'm close to my apartment a-already." The officer nodded.

"Smart too, alright well I'm still gonna walk you home at least." Ruby sighed and nodded. She hoped her mother wouldn't get the wrong idea.

* * *

Summer hadn't gotten any message from her daughter about where she was. It admittedly had her worried. But Ruby had a good head on her shoulders she was sure she wouldn't get into any trouble. Her thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on the front door. She went to answer it and immediately ate her words.

A nervous Ruby and A cop greeted her. She did not. "Hello Officer, what seems to be the issue with my daughter?"

The cop looked at her surprised before laughing, it was familiar. Not familiar from the tone, but from the voice itself. It was like a ghost of her past. "Ha no worries ma'am, your daughter here was on the way home, and I thought it would be prudent to escort her since it had gotten dark out."

"I see. Thank you." She made eye contact with the cop and Summer felt her heart just about tear in two. The woman's hair color may have been different, as was her eye color. But she was the spitting image of Raven. She should have never come back to Vale. "Well come on Ruby, dinner is waiting."

Her daughter quickly shuffled inside and she turned one last look to the blonde woman. "Thank you for bringing her home safely."

"Anytime Ma'am, it's all part of the job." The woman turned to leave and Summer couldn't help herself.

"Does the name Raven mean anything to you?"

The woman turned back to her and smiled wistfully, "More than you realize." And with that she left, and Summer was alone again.

* * *

A/N okay so FFN seems to have bugged out and not shown this chapter properly as an update. So I have a weird suspicion that people aren't noticing that they got a new chapter despite following/favoriting. So I've taken down the original chapter 2 (no changes were made beside this A/N) and uploaded this version. Hopefully FFN stops being buggy and actually shows this update.

If you already read chapter 2 then you're good to go. Either way thanks for reading.


End file.
